Didis Play Pen

Toy Fact of the Day #222

Didis — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:00:33 +0000

The Hula Hoop began as a simple wooden ring sold in retails stores in 1957. They were such a hit that the company began manufacturing them in bright colors made of plastic.

Toy Fact of the Day #221

Didis — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:00:30 +0000

Charles Pajeau of Illinois invented Tinker Toys. At first, no one was interested, so at Christmas time he hired several “little people” to dress as elves and play with the toy in the display window of a Chicago department store. His publicity stunt worked and we still have them some 97 years later.

Toy Fact of the Day #220

Didis — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:00:20 +0000

Invented in Austria, the Pez candy machine was created to look like a cigarette lighter. 7 years later, the company began putting character heads on the top and marketing them toward children.

Toy Fact of the Day #219

Didis — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:00:42 +0000

The digital game SIMON was invented as on of the first simple “computers” by a man named Ralph Bear. It was named after the popular children’s game Simon Says.

Toy Fact of the Day #218

Didis — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:14:07 +0000

The Yo-yo was invented in the Philippines. There it was originally used as a weapon for hunting!

Toy Fact of the Day #217

Didis — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:11:22 +0000

In the game of checkers and chess, the term “checkmate” comes from the Persian word “shah mat” which means “the king is dead”.

Toy Fact of the Day #216

Didis — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:09:01 +0000

The astronauts of Apollo 8 brought Silly Putty into space with them. It entertained them as well as held objects down in the anti-gravity environment!

Toy Fact of the Day #215

Didis — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 17:07:17 +0000

And Etch-a-Sketch is filled with a mixture of aluminum powder and plastic beads.

Toy Fact of the Day #214

Didis — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:04:49 +0000

The original Monopoly game, invented during the Great Depression, had tokens that modeled common 1937 style household objects. Some of these were the top hat, thimble and the shoe. But the rocking horse, lantern, and purse were retired in the 50s.

Toy Fact of the Day #213

Didis — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 17:02:45 +0000

The Easy Bake Oven’s original model was created in 1963 and was turquois in color. It had a fake stove top and a carrying handle. It did change color over the years to follow trends however.